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Indian Male

Try not to create any more damage to her feelings

What I would do initially [if a friend disclosed to me], is ask myself how am I going to handle this without causing any damage to her feelings. She may have undergone so much already, because of what happened to her. So I would try to not create any more damage to her feelings.
I would need to be careful with the usage of words because they can make or break hearts. We need to be extremely careful with our usage of words because she is the victim. There is a big problem with victim-blaming in my hometown. They don't care what the victim is experiencing; there is always victim blaming. So, I would be concentrating more on those parts. [...] Should I be encouraging her to be more vocal about it? Or, should I give her the space she needs? I need to be thinking in both ways.

Recommendations

  • Use approaches that are trauma informed and survivor-centred.

  • Present learning materials in a way that is helpful to a friend supporting a victim/survivor.

  • Ensure all sexual violence prevention and response education and training opportunities actively deconstruct victim-blaming, rape myths and gender norms. Ensure these sessions take an intersectional approach to understanding sexual violence and supporting victim/survivors.